Iowa endorsements abound with time running out

[babylonsister]

http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/iowa-endorsements-abound-with-time-running-out-2007-12-17.html

Iowa endorsements abound with time running out
By Sam Youngman | Posted: 12/17/07 11:58 AM
December 17, 2007

Key endorsements from the crucial state of Iowa are coming fast and furious with the first-in-the-nation caucuses just more than two weeks away.

Former Sen. Fred Thompson (R-Tenn.) scored a big name Monday, when conservative Iowan Rep. Steve King (R) announced he is backing the ex-senator on the same day Thompson launched an Iowa bus tour.

Meanwhile, Sen. Barack Obama’s (D-Ill.) campaign announced that freshman Iowa Rep. David Loebsack (D) is supporting his bid. That follows the weekend news of The Des Moines Register’s endorsement of his chief rival, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.).

“Obama is energizing, organizing and mobilizing ordinary Americans to get involved in their democracy in a way I haven’t seen in a long time,” Loebsack said in a statement. “And he’s building the kind of grassroots movement that will not just make him the most electable Democrat in a general election, but will help him enter the White House with a mandate for change that Washington can’t ignore.”

Former Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.), who has already secured the endorsement of freshman Iowa Rep. Bruce Braley (D), announced Monday that the state’s first lady, Mari Culver, is backing his run.

The Democrats’ race to score the first caucus state’s congressional endorsements ended in a draw, with each of the top three candidates winning one endorsement. Clinton’s campaign announced earlier this month that Iowa Rep. Leonard Boswell (D) is backing her.

By contrast, Obama won the endorsements of New Hampshire’s only two members, Democratic Reps. Carol Shea-Porter and Paul Hodes.

[jillan]

1. Biden also picked up his 15th endorsement today from Iowa.